(Yicai) March 17 -- Shares of Contemporary Amperex Technology slipped after the world's largest manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries reported its first annual revenue decline since its initial public offering in June 2018.

CATL [SHE: 300750] closed 2.3 percent lower at CNY256 (USD35.40), erasing any year-to-date gains. The Tesla supplier has filed for a secondary listing in Hong Kong, which is expected to become the city's largest share sale in five years.

Despite a 10-percent revenue decrease to CNY362 billion (USD50 billion) last year, CATL's net profit jumped 15 percent to CNY50.8 billion (USD7 billion) from 2023, the Ningde-based company announced in its earnings report after trading ended on March 14.

Revenue from the main business of power battery systems dropped 11 percent to CNY253 billion while income from energy storage battery systems fell by 4 percent to CNY57.3 billion, making up almost 70 percent and nearly 16 percent of the total, respectively.

Electrification Leader

The long-term outlook remains positive. CATL executives pointed out that EVs have risen to make up more than half of all car sales in China, and by 2030, the ratio is expected to increase to 80 to 90 percent, reflecting a medium to long-term trend. Autopilot features are becoming more mature, which is also conducive to boosting electrification, they added.

CATL was the world's biggest battery manufacturer for the eighth straight year last year with a market share of 37.9 percent, according to data from South Korean market research firm SNE Research. Moreover, its shipments of energy storage batteries ranked first globally for the fourth consecutive year with a 36.5 percent market share.

CATL's overseas business accounted for 30.5 percent of its total revenue last year, narrowing from 32.7 percent. The firm invested CNY18.6 billion in research and development over the year. Its battery production capacity rose 22 percent to 675 gigawatt-hours and the capacity utilization rate was 76.3 percent.

The firm reported that an additional 200 GWh of capacity was under construction. That includes a factory in Germany, Hungary, and a joint venture plant in Spain with European automaker Stellantis, as well as a project in Indonesia. The Hungarian plant kicked off module production in 2024 and will start making battery cells this year. Moreover, the second phase of the project is expected to begin this year and take a bit more than a year to complete.

Executives touched on 2025 performance, revealing that the firm performed well in Europe in the first two months of this year, reflecting a solidified momentum.

CATL said that with the further introduction of supportive policies, the company has high expectations for the European energy storage market in the long run. Such markets in the United States and Europe maintain good growth rates, rising in tandem with data center demand, the firm added.

Editor: Emmi Laine